PCR-RFLP and multiplex PCR for discrimination of beef, water buffalo, poultry and pork meat in Egyptian food and feed products

In the light of global, meat market-related health hazards, methodologies for detecting meat adulteration and incorrect labelling are of a growing global concern. Economic, religious, and health concerns associated with such market fraud are of major public importance. Due to the scarcity of Egyptian authentication studies on processed meat products, this work aimed to develop and apply PCR-RFLP and multiplex PCR to simultaneously discriminate between beef, water buffalo, poultry and pork meats in popular meat products and ruminant feeds in Egypt. The findings of the developed PCR-RFLP assay indicated that liver and shawarma sandwiches were composed of pure beef and buffalo meat, respectively, without any mixing. Furthermore, mPCR analysis revealed that 94.5% of sausage and 83.33% of hotdog samples contained poultry residues. Notably, 8.33% of sausage samples contained pork. For ruminant feed products, 100 % of the collected samples analysed using a Tas I-based PCR-RFLP assay were positive for bovine meat, particularly Bos taurus. These findings highlight significant discrepancies between product labels and actual content. Continuous molecular-based inspection is recommended for achieving food authenticity and consumer protection standards in the Egyptian markets.